Protecting the Milford Point birds over 4th of July weekend

Piping Plover’s like this one are vulnerable to disturbances so to help protect them we will be locking the Coastal Center gates over the 4th of July weekend.

In the sanctuaries …
We will be locking the gate to the Milford Point Coastal Center parking lot over the Fourth of July weekend to help protect the nesting birds.

We know this might be inconvenient if you were hoping to spend part of the weekend birding there.

But holiday weekends draw far too many non-birders than is safe for the Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers that nest there.

When you include the added disturbance caused by fireworks, it’s a potential disaster for the birds.

We will lock the gate at 4 p.m. Friday, June 30, and reopen it on the morning of July 6. (If your child is enrolled in camp at Milford Point, we’ll be there to open the gates on July 3 and 5.)

Piping Plovers are listed as threatened species under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts; American Oystercatchers are on the state threatened list. As it happens, 2023 is turning out to be a good year at the point for both species.

Thank you for your cooperation and your understanding. It will no doubt help both birds get through an otherwise tough weekend.

In the meantime, we have beautiful sanctuaries brimming with birds and other wildlife in every part of Connecticut. Almost all are open from sunrise til sundown, 365 days a year.